Caught Unawares
by ptw30
Summary: Forever comes to Akihito on line at a coffee house.


**A/N**: I wanted to write a short story. Eprime gave me the prompt of this: "Write a story where Asami casually references his love for Akihito and Akihito is visibly floored. And Asami is all, what? Like, seriously, you didn't know that?" This was the result.

"**Caught Unawares"**

"Are you lost?" Akihito asked, creeping up behind the tall man at the end of the line. "Because I can direct you to the nearest henchman who I'm sure will happily wait in line for you."

Asami glanced over his shoulder as he slipped his cell phone into his pocket, an amused smile upon his pale lips. "Hello, Akihito. I was unaware you frequented this establishment."

"And I was 'unaware' you ever waited on line like a normal person. Don't people like you ignore societal conventions, like parking tickets and personal boundaries and ice cream fetishes?"

Asami chuckled, the edge of his eyes crinkling with obvious delight. "I have fetishes that I enjoy indulging." And as if to accent his claim, he brushed the back of his hand across Akihito's jawline, which painted Akihito's cheeks with a vibrant shade of pink.

"What did I say about personal boundaries? Do you have a hearing problem? Your age catching up to you, old man?"

The line slowly moved toward the front, and Asami stepped ahead. "And somehow you still have a problem meeting my pace."

Akihito followed with a dark scowl upon his face and crossed arms over his chest. "Well, if you weren't such a—a _fiend_," he hissed. "And in less than four years, you'll be forty. The big four-oh."

"You are very observant, my photographer. Is there a reason for your astute skills today?" Asami's smooth voice never lost its silky tone.

Akihito's cheeky smile widened. "Eventually, you'll slow down, and then I may be able to get a full night's sleep."

"I wouldn't count on it," and his arm slipped about Akihito's waist, his hand sliding fast but low across his backside.

"Hey! Hey!" He pushed on Asami's arm, effectively freeing himself. "Just when you start acting normal, you do something to prove you're still a perverted bastard."

"It's been a while since we've done it in a bathroom."

Akihito snorted. "Better make mine a triple espresso then."

The corner of Asami's mouth twitched. "I wonder if there's such a thing as a quadruple."

"Oh, shut up. You're not that much faster."

"Ryuichi?" a hesitant voice called from beyond before it grew in amusement. "Ryuichi, is that you?"

Akihito crossed his arms and huffed as a rather well-dressed man with sharp eyes and a mild smile greeted Asami with noticeable warmth. Well, there went his afternoon of inappropriate but thrilling texts and perhaps a few pictures. Maybe this time he could have gotten Asami to sending _him_ something. The last time, he received a picture of the view out Asami's window, and unfortunately, he was in Tokyo while Asami was in Madrid.

But it wasn't meant to be, and he and Asami had an unspoken protocol considering their work. They never crossed, so while Asami spoke with Pretentious Businessman Number Twelve, Akihito would make idle chitchat with the baristas and begrudgingly start the trek back to his perch of the afternoon, half-hard and bored.

"Hiroko, have you met Takaba yet?"

Akihito's eyes darted to Asami's and saw nothing but unbridled good nature. When did he step into the _Twilight Zone_ where crime lords introduced their boy toys to their business associates?

"Uh, no," the businessman seemed surprised. "I was unaware you were seeing someone."

Was anyone "aware" today?

"Akihito, I'd like you to meet Arai Hiroko." Asami's hands skimmed his back until it rested in the small curve. "He and I attended Todai together. Hiroko, this is Takaba Akihito, my partner. He's a photojournalist for the _Weekly Edition_."

Somewhere between his name and his place of work, Akihito's heart stopped. He glanced up between his blond tips at Asami, unable to read the smooth face and dancing eyes. Asami seemed to recognize his uncertainty, and the annoyed expression that followed, one that clearly said, "What? Don't tell me this is news to you," was flustering and frustrating.

Like slipping the word "partner" into the conversation was okay. Like introducing him to business partners and former schoolmates was the norm. Like they approached anything remotely close to normal. Like he'd stop being a captive in their fucked-up relationship.

Okay, so sure, it'd been almost a year and a half since they met, and maybe things were good, Akihito admitted if only to himself. Alright. Fine. Things were really fucking awesome. Asami and he worked different hours, but Asami always came home for dinner (or breakfast, more accurately). And they lounged around in bed on Saturdays, and on Sundays, Akihito played the effective part of housecat, lying across Asami's lap as his lover read reports or worked on spreadsheets. And he showed Asami his pictures. They had dinners with his parents, and maybe that trip to Australia to take the BridgeClimb was more than just a vacation, especially since it was the anniversary of their first meeting, and yes, they kissed on the top surrounded by a breathtaking vista that Akihito could still not believe existed.

And Asami knew his drink order, like a partner should, ordering it without a thought and adding the extra shots of espresso.

But were they really partners? Because "partner" made shit real. "Partner" meant a commitment of sorts. This was no longer a fling, a whim, a mid-life crisis. This—whatever it was—just became permanent, and Akihito wasn't sure how to handle such a revelation.

But he certainly wouldn't embarrass Asami. He bowed sharply and muttered, "It's…ah, a pleasure to meet you, Arai-san. I've never met anyone from Asami's college days before."

"It's probably because he doesn't like to share," Arai laughed. "When we were in college, he always refused to let the rest of us meet his flavor of the week. Like we'd take them or something."

Akihito's eyes widened, and he shot at a glance at Asami, whom he could have sworn looked…embarrassed? Was that a pale shade of pink upon his cheeks?

"Rest of us?" Akihito repeated. "So there was a group of you?"

"Absolutely. Kuroda—have you met him?—me, Kei, Kazmi, Ryuichi, and Yoh."

The shock that flooded his system, threatened to numb his entire body, and despite the initial hurt, Akihito pushed it away. He wouldn't miss an opportunity like this on an unalterable event in the past. A dangerous glint shone in his eyes, and he flashed his pearly whites first at Asami, then at Arai.

"Arai-san, allow Ryuichi to buy you a cup of coffee." Akihito took his hand and led the older man to an empty booth. "And tell me everything you remember from university."

"Well, to be honest, Ryuichi probably will remember more than I, but I'm sure there's at least one or two stories I can—"

Ryuichi ordered, taking his credit card out again, "Not the dorm rave, Hiroko."

Akihito whirled. "What was that?"

"I think Ryuichi was telling me to tell you the rave story."

"_Hiroko_," warned Ryuichi, but by then, he'd already launched into the story.

The coffee session lasted much longer than its original fifteen minutes. Akihito ignored a few texts and calls from Mitarai while Asami took off the rest of the day. With Arai, Asami reminisced with laughter and caffeine, and Akihito drank it in with a tender smile, savoring the lighthearted side of Asami that he saw far only at home or alone in the office.

When they broke, Akihito was calling Arai "Hiroko" and accepting a hug instead of a bow. Asami reached down, lacing his and Akihito's hands together, pressing his lips against Akihito's knuckles.

"I thought when you heard about Yoh, you would have tried to run away again."

Akihito looked away but mainly to hide the deep brush across his cheeks. "I was thinking about it, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn more about my favorite target. And since we're partners now and everything…"

"That seemed to come as a shock to you." Asami's voice was a little harsher than expected, but Akihito pacified him with a caress of his hand and a chaste kiss.

"Of course it did. As much as I'm waaaay too good for a perverted crime lord who masquerades as a legitimate club owner…I guess I just never was sure where we've stood before."

"As if I haven't made it clear?"

"No, you haven't," Akihito pierced. "Yes, you've saved my life numerous times. Yes, you have a security detail of some sort that follows me around. And yes, you moved all my stuff into your apartment, but all that points to captive more than partner. And I'm not saying that you don't have your charms, and sure, you know how to treat a guy to a good time. But…I wasn't sure if you ever stopped looking at me like the person you clubbed over the head and dragged back to your lair."

"Isn't that how one captures a partner?" Asami laughed, and Akihito hit him once in the chest before laughing as well.

Asami drew him close before whispering in his ear, "You shouldn't give me ideas, Akihito."

"What are you—oh, come on!" Akihito cried when he found himself in the rather familiar position of being thrown over Asami's shoulder. "I was just making a comparison! You don't have to prove your degree of badass with me. I just…oh, the hell with it."

With a spark of excitement and a healthy amount of foreboding his gut, Akihito struggled just enough to get Asami's attention. "If you're going to drag me back to your lair, you better do it right."

Akihito pushed upon his elbows once Asami threw him on the back seat, and with a wicked smirk and roaming hands, Asami replied, "Oh, I'll make sure you keep coming back for more."

Akihito snorted. Like he'd ever leave.

**The End**


End file.
